Types of Recruitment
For any organization, recruitment is a crucial part of developing and maintaining an effective and efficient team. A good recruitment strategy will cut down the wastage of time and money, which would have incurred for extensive training and development of unqualified resources. Have you ever thought of, how a recruiter finds the right candidates? Recruiters use different methods to source, screen, shortlist, and select the resources as per the requirements of the organization. Recruitment types explain the means by which an organization reaches potential job seekers.
In this chapter, we will shed some light on the
secrets of hiring and recruiting methods, used by the recruiters. Recruitment
is broadly classified into two different categories − Internal Sources and
External Sources.
Internal Sources of Recruitment
Internal sources of recruitment refer to hiring
employees within the organization internally. In other words, applicants
seeking for the different positions are those who are currently employed with
the same organization.
At the time recruitment of employees, the
initial consideration should be given to those employees who are currently
working within the organization. This is an important source of recruitment,
which provides the opportunities for the development and utilization of the
existing resources within the organization.
Internal sources of recruitment are the best and
the easiest way of selecting resources as performance of their work is already
known to the organization. Let us now discuss more on the various internal
sources of recruitment.
Promotions
Promotion refers to upgrading the cadre of the
employees by evaluating their performance in the organization. It is the
process of shifting an employee from a lower position to a higher position with
more responsibilities, remuneration, facilities, and status. Many organizations
fill the higher vacant positions with the process of promotions, internally.
Transfers
Transfer refers to the process of interchanging
from one job to another without any change in the rank and responsibilities. It
can also be the shifting of employees from one department to another department
or one location to another location, depending upon the requirement of the
position.
Let’s take an example to understand how it
works. Assume there is a finance company called ABC Ltd. Having two branches,
Branch-A and Branch-B, and an employee from Branch-A resigned from his job
responsibilities. Hence, this position has to be filled for the continuation of
the project in Branch-A.
In this scenario, instead of searching or
sourcing new candidates, which is time consuming and expensive, there is a
possibility of shifting an employee from Branch-B to Branch-A, depending upon
the project requirements and the capabilities of that respective employee. This
internal shifting of an employee from one branch to another branch is called as
Transfer.
Recruiting Former Employees
Recruiting former employees is a process of
internal sources of recruitment, wherein the employees are called back
depending upon the requirement of the position. This process is cost-effective
and saves plenty of time. The other major benefit of recruiting former
employees is that they are very well versed with the roles and responsibilities
of the job and the organization needs to spend less on their training and
development.
Internal Advertisements (Job Posting)
Internal Advertisements is a process of posting/advertising jobs within the organization. This job posting is an open invitation to all the employees inside the organization, where they can apply for the vacant positions. It provides equal opportunities to all the employees working in the organization. Hence, the recruitment will be done from within the organization and it saves a lot of cost.
Employee Referrals
Employee referrals is an effective way of
sourcing the right candidates at a low cost. It is the process of hiring new
resources through the references of employees, who are currently working with
the organization. In this process, the present employees can refer their
friends and relatives for filling up the vacant positions.
Organizations encourage employee referrals,
because it is cost effective and saves time as compared to hiring candidates
from external sources. Most organizations, in order to motivate their
employees, go ahead and reward them with a referral bonus for a successful
hire.
Previous Applicants
Here, the hiring team checks the profiles of
previous applicants from the organizational recruitment database. These
applicants are those who have applied for jobs in the past. These resources can
be easily approached and the response will be positive in most of the cases. It
is also an inexpensive way of filling up the vacant positions.
Pros and Cons of Internal Sources of Recruitment
Internal sources of recruitment, i.e., hiring
employees within the organization, have its own set of advantages and
disadvantages. The advantages are as follows −It is simple, easy, quick, and
cost effective. No need of induction and training, as the candidates already
know their job and responsibilities. It motivates the employees to work hard,
and increases the work relationship within the organization. It helps in
developing employee loyalty towards the organization. The drawbacks of hiring
candidates through internal sources are as follows −It prevents new hiring of
potential resources. Sometimes, new resources bring innovative ideas and new
thinking onto the table. It has limited scope because all the vacant positions
cannot be filled. There could be issues in between the employees, who are
promoted and who are not. If an internal resource is promoted or transferred,
then that position will remain vacant. Employees, who are not promoted, may end
up being unhappy and demotivated.
External Sources of Recruitment
External sources of recruitment refer to hiring
employees outside the organization externally. In other words, the applicants
seeking job opportunities in this case are those who are external to the
organization.
External employees bring innovativeness and
fresh thoughts to the organization. Although hiring through external sources is
a bit expensive and tough, it has tremendous potential of driving the organization
forward in achieving its goals. Let us now discuss in detail the various
external sources of recruitment.
Direct Recruitment
Direct recruitment refers to the external source
of recruitment where the recruitment of qualified candidates are done by
placing a notice of vacancy on the notice board in the organization. This
method of sourcing is also called as factory gate recruitment, as the
blue-collar and technical workers are hired through this process.
Employment Exchanges
As per the law, for certain job vacancies, it is
mandatory that the organization provides details to the employment exchange.
Employment exchange entity, where the details of the job seekers are stored and
given to the employers for filling the vacant positions. This external
recruitment is helpful in hiring for unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled
workers.
Employment Agencies
Employment agencies are a good external source
of recruitment. Employment agencies are run by various sectors like private,
public, or government. It provides unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled
resources as per the requirements of the organization. These agencies hold a
database of qualified candidates and organizations can use their services at a
cost.
Advertisements
Advertisements are the most popular and very
much preferred source of external source of recruitment. The job vacancy is
announced through various print and electronic media with a specific job
description and specifications of the requirements. Using advertisements is the
best way to source candidates in a short span and it offers an efficient way of
screening the candidates’ specific requirements.
Let’s take an example. Assume that there is a
Sales Company called XYZ Ltd which has got a new project of selling a product
in a short span of time, as the competition is very high. In this scenario,
choosing the specific recruitment plays a vital role. Here the ideal type of
recruitment which should be chosen is Advertisement.
Advertisement is the best suitable practice for
this kind of hiring, because a large volume of hiring in a short span can be
done through Advertisement only. Advertisement is one of the costliest way to
recruit candidates, but when time and number are important, then advertisement
is the best source of recruitment.
Professional Associations
Professional associations can help an
organization in hiring professional, technical, and managerial personnel,
however they specialize in sourcing mid-level and top-level resources. There
are many professional associations that act as a bridge between the
organizations and the job-seekers.
Campus Recruitment
Campus recruitment is an external source of
recruitment, where the educational institutions such as colleges and
universities offers opportunities for hiring students. In this process, the
organizations visit technical, management, and professional institutions for
recruiting students directly for the new positions.
Word of Mouth Advertising
Word of mouth is an intangible way of sourcing
the candidates for filling up the vacant positions. There are many reputed
organizations with good image in the market. Such organizations only need a
word-of-mouth advertising regarding a job vacancy to attract a large number of
candidates.
Pros and Cons of External Sources of Recruitment
External sources of recruitment, i.e., hiring
employees outside an organization, has both its benefits and drawbacks. The
benefits are as follows −
- It encourages new opportunities
for job seekers.
- Organization branding increases
through external sources.
- There will be no biasing or
partiality between the employees.
- The scope for selecting the
right candidate is more, because of the large number candidates appearing.
The disadvantages of recruiting through external
sources are as follows −
- This process consumes more
time, as the selection process is very lengthy.
- The cost incurred is very high
when compared to recruiting through internal sources.
- External candidates demand more
remuneration and benefits.
To conclude, the HR department should be
flexible enough to choose between internal or external methods of recruitment,
depending upon the requirement of the organization.
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